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Mr. GILBERT. It will be noted on Roy Armstrong's land, it is located close to the Federal land and he has been one of the many farmers who have been repeatedly penalized because noxious weeds have not been controlled and their lands have been repeatedly, year after year, reinfested with noxious weeds coming from the Indian land.

I also have with me the resolution of Bennett County Weed Board. The following resolution was passed by the Bennett County Weed Board at a meeting on September 15:

Whereas some of the federally owned and controlled land in Bennett County is badly infested with noxious weeds.

Whereas this infested area is a menace to all agricultural land in the adjoining countryside, and that 40 percent of the land in Bennett County is federally owned or controlled.

Be it resolved, That this board earnestly requests that the South Dakota congressional delegation work earnestly for the passage of present bills now before the House and Senate which would require Federal agencies to comply with State weed laws.

In Bennett County is located the Lacreek Game Refuge. This covers approximately 16 sections of land. A year or so ago it was found that 150 acres of this land had become infested with perennial sow thistles. The local people in charge of the refuge have done the best job they can with the limited equipment and supplies that have been given them.

However, they must have more support from their agency. We have in the county of Roberts a large amount of Indian land and we have some place this morning Mr. Wilhelm Nelson with a great deal of information and exhibit material which he was to present. If he does not get back in time during the rest of this hour, we will have him file it with you.

Marshall County has a similar problem; Brown County has the similar problem; Day County has somewhat of a similar problem.

Federal land or federally owned and controlled land in South Dakota is increasing apparently every year or every 2 years. If the farmers of South Dakota are going to be protected from noxious weed infestation which originates on these areas, it must come through Federal legislation because that is the part of the Federal job. Thank you, gentlemen.

Mr. LOVRE. Thank you, Charlie, for the work you are doing. Would you have Mr. Nelson file his brief and any other document he may have with Mr. Le May, to be included as a part of the record? The next is the Angus Association, Mr. Clifford Bush. Is Mr. Bush here?

I also note Mr. Justin Mortvedt is with Mr. Bush. Will your time?

you divide

STATEMENTS OF CLIFFORD BUSH, OF BRITTON, S. DAK., AND JUSTIN MORTVEDT, OF DELL RAPIDS, S. DAK., REPRESENTING THE SOUTH DAKOTA ANGUS ASSOCIATION

Mr. BUSH. This is the testimony offered in behalf of the South Dakota Angus Association to the Agricultural Committee of the House of Representatives at the Watertown, S. Dak., hearing on October 13, 1953, by Clifford W. Bush, director and vice president of the South Dakota Angus Association.

We have gotten our economy from our forefathers, who as I remember history were principally farmers and livestock raisers. They claimed in order to have a sound national economy, it is an essential part to have a sound agricultural economy and we can only have such an economy with a sound agricultural program. In fact, a good share of our economy is based upon agriculture, for in other fields they only utilize and manufacture what we created.

Our Angus Association represents the Angus cattle breeders and growers in the State of South Dakota. Some of us are interested in raising primarily breeding stock while others are interested in growing cattle commercially but in any instance we are interested in cattle and what they sell for.

Cattle producers, including our association, have preferred not to have productions controls and support prices but the shoe is pinching very hard at the present time. We are seemingly being caught in the middle between the grain producers who are getting support prices for their grains and the present consumer price of beef.

The feeders tell me and I know from experience on the small amount that I feed-that if I have to pay $1.50 for corn and cannot expect to get any more than I expect at the present time for fed cattle, I am not anxious to feed cattle and that if I do, I cannot pay very much for the cattle that I buy to feed or I will be losing money.

Our cattle feeders in the last few years have been taking quite a loss and probably one of the biggest reasons is that cattle have been going down steadily all of this time, they have to pay more in the fall than cattle are in the spring or next summer and we have had several instances where we turned down prices for our sucking calves in the fall of 1952, kept them all winter, put them on pasture, and now they are not worth what they were a year ago when half the size; however during all of this time, the things that we have to buy are seemingly going up, perhaps because in part of the private and public support prices of other commodities.

We would like to have the Federal Government aid us in the broadening of the demand for beef and beef products. I do not know what the consumption of beef is now compared to a year ago but we who are getting such a lower price hope that the consumer is getting part of this and that there would be more beef eaten today than a year ago, but the consumption is not as high as I believe good nutritional standards would provide for.

We would therefore like some assistance in conducting educational programs directed to the consumer emphasizing the importance of beef in the human diet.

With beef prices such as they are, I am wondering if our students in their hot-lunch programs could not use some of this cheap beef and assist in the beef consumption in that way.

From my reading I understand that the Armed Forces of this country do not use entirely our beef and beef products and I firmly believe that this is one of the best ways that our legislature can assist us, by purchasing this beef from the American farmer in preference to any other beef, and I might add that I think that this would carry over to all agricultural products.

From my small travels and from the information that I have received it seems to me that some of the eating places do not include beef on their menus at all. Some claim it is too high and by the prices that we get, I cannot understand this. Some others that do have beef on their menus, the price is out of the range of the ordinary man.

I realize that this or other agricultural committees are making an investigation at this time concerning the middleman and his profits in the marketing of the beef that we produce and we hope that something is accomplished, however it seems that some of the menus of the cafes, hotels, pullman diners, and other eating establishments only serve one type of beef which is the highest price and therefore out of the reach of some eaters. We feel out here that our grass-fed cattle while not the best grade of beef are still very palatable.

There are a lot of countries in this world of ours that are not really acquainted with the American beef or any beef to speak of and we

believe that a great deal could be done in improving the exports of beef and beef products.

We have our association here in the State to which a lot of Aberdeen Angus growers belong, however we are not in a position to do a great deal of advertising and educating the people along the lines suggested above. However, we believe that this can be done over a period of time. We have an example of that here in our State. Through our efforts and the efforts of others, the quality of the cattle produced we believe to be a great deal better than what was raised here years ago and this has been done principally through advertising and promotion.

In addition to the above, we believe that there is an immediate need at this time for some credit to people to keep some of these cattle on the farm. I have neighbors who have wanted to keep some of their sucking calves but it takes twice as many this year to bring the same price or pay for the same tractor that it did a year ago. Some of them have payments that have to be met on machinery and land and therefore they are having quite a hardship because of the cattle prices.

I understand that some of the more unfortunate cattle producers in the country do not have the feed to feed them. However, here in South Dakota, feed is more abundant than I have ever seen it and I believe that some assistance could be given so that we could get this feed to the drouth-stricken areas and that this would lessen them selling their foundation herds and in that way help the people in that area as well as this.

The association requests that the credit agencies of this country provide a true intermediate credit. By this I mean loans of 2 to 5 years, with reasonable rates of interest for the purpose of financing our beef herds.

Along with the education of the people, we find that we as an association and likewise other associations cannot spend a lot of research on the use of beef and beef products. In fact as it looks to me some of the byproducts are slipping away from us. Our shoes are no longer all leather. Plastics are supplanting leather in a great many uses and this it can easily be seen was done by some who have the facilities for doing a great deal of research. As a consequence, leather, when we sell it, is really worth nothing.

We would like some help in the educational line of how we can raise beef more economically. We are learning more about feeding but this is still a large field. Some of the associations also believe that perhaps our marketing programs are not of the best. It hurts us like everything to ship cattle on Monday and get 15 cents for them and then our neighbors ship the same type of cattle on Friday and get 18 cents for them. Is there any way that this can be equalized or keep on at least a resemblance of steady prices? Why should it fluctuate so much as hogs have in the last week or 10 days.

We believe that a lot of this could be accomplished by some of the facilities that we now have such as the United States Department of Agriculture and the land-grant colleges such as the one that we have down here in Brookings, S. Dak.

Such would require more funds than they now have with which to do this educating and research. We would greatly appreciate it if you gentlemen would help along this line to see that they do have

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such funds to carry out some of the things that I have suggested as we see it from out here.

Thank you.

Mr. LOVRE. Thank you very kindly, Mr. Bush.

You will notice that we have not commented during this hearing and do not intend to because this is your meeting. But I do want to call your attention, Mr. Bush, to the fact that the Government is getting beef into the school-lunch program. Every school has ample amounts and it also takes in the public institutions in connection with which we are shipping on our foreign operations program.

The State Holstein-Freisian Association is now recognized. Mr. James Boyd.

Is Mr. Boyd here?

(No response.)

Mr. LOVRE. If not, is Mr. Erickson, of the South Dakota Ayrshire Cattle Breeders Association present?

(No response.)

Mr. LOVRE. IS Clive Schooley present, representing the South Dakota Creameries Association?

(No response.)

Mr. LOVRE. Going back to the State organizations again, before calling on individuals, is the Western South Dakota Sheep Growers Association, represented by Warren Johnson, here?

(No response.)

Mr. LOVRE. Is the South Dakota Swine Improvement Association, Mr. Arley Hill, of Brookings, present?

(No response.)

Mr. LOVRE. Going back to the East River Electric Cooperative, is Harry C. Anderson here?

The Chair recognizes Mr. Anderson for 10 minutes in connection with the East River Electric Cooperative. I notice that a part of our group is back from lunch. That means that those who waited will now go to lunch but we will be back in about an hour. I am turning the gavel over to our chairman, Congressman Hope, who will conduct the meeting for the next hour or so.

Mr. Hope.

STATEMENT OF HARRY C. ANDERSON, DELEGATE OF EAST RIVER ELECTRIC POWER COOPERATIVE, INC., LILY, S. DAK.

Mr. ANDERSON. My name is Harry C. Anderson; I live on a farm in Clark County 50 miles northwest of Watertown; I operate a 960acre farm, 560 acres of which I own.

I raise cattle, sheep, wheat, corn, oats, barley, rye, and flax. I have spent all of my life right here in this community. At present I am a member of the Board of County Commissioners of Clark County, as well as being president of the board of directors of the CodingtonClark Electric Cooperative, whose office is at Watertown, S. Dak. Today I am here, speaking in behalf of the 45,000 farmers in the eastern half of South Dakota who have joined together to get electricity on their farms. The farmers of South Dakota have borrowed approximately $75 million from REA to bring electric energy to their farms. Electricity is fast becoming a vital tool of the farmer.

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